In rolling ball amusement devices such as pinball games, a ball is propelled onto a sloping playfield, so that the ball then rolls typically forward along the playfield, striking various targets as it rolls. It is of course well known to have "flippers" which propel the ball upwardly again on the playfield, away from its lower end, for added scoring if the user has successfully engaged the ball.
One of the ways that scoring is registered in an electronically operated pinball machine is by means of a microswitch carried on the bottom of the playfield, and having an actuator wire projecting upwardly through the playfield, to be engaged and depressed by a rolling ball. When the wire is depressed, a score is recorded.
In the prior art, these microswitch actuator wires have a section thereof which projects through the slot in the playfield to present a ball-engaging portion of the wire which projects above the playfield. This ball engaging wire portion of the prior art comprises a portion of the microswitch actuator wire which is of two straight, integral wire sections connected to each other at an angle. The outer tip of the outermost, straight section typically resides in the slot at all times, with the outermost section being connected by the angle to the next inner section, so that the angle of the wire projects above the playfield more than any other portion of the actuator wire.
However, it has been found that balls rolling on the playfield can become "hung-up" on occasion by this construction. The ball can roll against such a wire with insufficient force to completely depress it, so it "hangs up". Also, a ball rolling laterally with respect to the plane of the angled wire section projecting above the playfield can be captured that way, to hang up and thus delay the game.
By this invention, an improved switching system for rolling ball amusement games is provided, in which a switch actuator wire projects through a slot in the playfield as before, but in which the risk of ball hang up is greatly reduced. This is accomplished with essentially no increase in the cost of the switch system, or any other disadvantages.